In short
Cuminaldehyde is 4-isopropylbenzaldehyde, the main odorant of cumin seed. It gives a strong spicy, green and slightly sweaty cumin note and is used sparingly.
What Cuminaldehyde smells like
Cuminaldehyde is the main odour carrier of cumin. Wikipedia lists spicy, cumin, green and herbal; The Good Scents Company gives the same profile, with a vegetable-like flavour note. Fraterworks describes pungent green-herbaceous facets, animalic undertones and a sweaty-leathery warmth, for leather accords, oriental spices and carnation bases. A chemical reference finds it sharper than the whole oil.
- Leading note
- Cumin
- Clear facets
- Green, herbal
- Supporting facets
- Sweaty, leathery, pungent
- Character
- Sharp, pungent, powerful
What makes Cuminaldehyde distinctive
Cumin's sharp core: greener and more pungent than the oil, without its rounding.
How Cuminaldehyde is used
Used in traces in leather, oriental spice and carnation compositions, and in flavours. IFRA restricts it.
Typical role: modifier (used in small amounts to change the character of a blend).
How Cuminaldehyde differs from similar materials
- Cumin Seed Oil
- The whole oil is softer and less sharp; cuminaldehyde is the sharper, greener cumin core. (compared directly by a cited source)
- Perillaldehyde
- Perillaldehyde is green-herbal and citrus-peel, recalling shiso, cumin-like only when concentrated; cuminaldehyde is cumin itself.
An asterisk marks a difference that a cited source states directly. The others compare the published descriptions of each material. Smell varies with grade, supplier and dilution; compare them side by side on blotters before substituting one for another.
Formulation considerations
Powerful and polarising; a little can dominate a blend. Work from dilution and evaluate on skin as well as blotter.
Identity and classification
- Type
- Aroma chemical
- Origin
- Occurs in nature
- Odour family
- Spicy / Green
- Note position
- Top to heart note
- Physical form at room temperature
- Liquid
- Also known as
- 4-Isopropylbenzaldehyde, Cuminal
- CAS number
- 122-03-2
- Molecular formula
- C10H12O
- Molecular weight
- 148.2 g/mol
- IUPAC name
- 4-propan-2-ylbenzaldehyde
The CAS number, formula and molecular weight are taken from PubChem compound 326, whose own record lists this CAS number; checked 19 October 2026.
Safety and compliance
The IFRA Standards Library lists a Standard covering Cuminaldehyde:
- "Cuminaldehyde" — Restriction, 49th Amendment, published 2020-01
Limits differ by product category and are set out in the Standard itself; this page does not reproduce them. The list above reflects the library as read on 19 October 2026.
Hazard classification of the neat substance, as PubChem summarises it, read 26 October 2026. Companies notifying the ECHA C&L Inventory classify it (1,792 reports): H302 harmful if swallowed (99.9% of reports); H317 may cause an allergic skin reaction (13.8% of reports). 1 of the reports find it does not meet the hazard criteria. A skin sensitiser classification concerns handling the neat material and the dose in a finished product; the IFRA Standards, where they apply, set the limits. Unless it is harmonised, this is the notifiers' own classification, not a binding one.
This page is general information, not a safety assessment or a specification. Confirm identity, composition, IFRA status and allergen content from your supplier's documents for the lot you hold.
Materials it works with
-
Cumin Seed Oil
Essential oil · Spicy / Animalic — spicy, animalic, sweaty, warm
-
Coriander Seed Oil
Essential oil · Spicy / Floral — spicy, floral, fresh, woody
-
Black Pepper Oil
Essential oil · Spicy / Woody — peppery, spicy, woody, fresh
-
Cardamom Oil
Essential oil · Spicy / Aromatic — spicy, aromatic, fresh, eucalyptus
Cuminaldehyde is also suggested as a partner on the pages for Perillaldehyde.
Used in formulas and accords
Not currently used in any published formula.
The Formula & Accord Library lists Cuminaldehyde here as soon as a published formula, accord or base uses it.
Further reading
Questions about Cuminaldehyde
Is Cuminaldehyde natural or synthetic?
The molecule occurs in nature. Commercial Cuminaldehyde may be made by synthesis or obtained from natural sources, so check the supplier's specification if the distinction matters to you.
What is the CAS number of Cuminaldehyde?
122-03-2. It was checked against PubChem on 19 October 2026.
Is Cuminaldehyde covered by an IFRA Standard?
Yes. The IFRA Standards Library lists a Standard covering it: "Cuminaldehyde" — Restriction, 49th Amendment. The limits depend on the product category; read the Standard itself before formulating.
Sources
- PubChem — compound 326, checked 19 October 2026.
- PubChem — GHS classification (the ECHA C&L Inventory notifications and any harmonised EU entry), read 26 October 2026.
- IFRA — Standards Library, read 19 October 2026.
- Wikipedia — Cuminaldehyde — published perfumery reference.
- Fraterworks — cuminaldehyde — distributor's description.
- The Good Scents Company — cumin flavour category — odour database.
- Olfactory profile: the RUŌOD Lab team's synthesis of the published descriptions above, reviewed 21 October 2026. Evidence: more than one published description. Classification and the short description: revision 1. Descriptions of odour are judgement, not measurement.